The health of our staff is an essential prerequisite for the sustainable development of our company's business and for safeguarding our high quality standard. A protracted heavy workload can lead to stress and hence health issues and even an incapacity for work.

In our Sustainability Strategy approved by the Executive Board in 2015, we explicitly set ourselves the goal of preserving and restoring the performance capability of our employees. This is something that we intend to accomplish by, among other things, continuing with and adding to our existing health and wellness programmes organised through our company physician and in the form of various seminars, another wellness day and various sports opportunities. As part of our in-house health management we have also put in place a range of measures emphasising information sharing, awareness raising and prevention. In this context we address not only good ergonomic working conditions as well as avoiding eye and back strain but also in more general terms a solution-driven approach to handling stressful situations.

The new seminar provided for our executives in 2017 entitled "Health – An Individual Responsibility and Management Task" highlights the potential correlation between workload, stress and well-being. It is supplemented by the seminar on "Relaxation Skills" offered since 2016, which enables participants to get to know their own individual resources and relaxation profile that can assist them with a healthy lifestyle and maintaining their performance capability. Both seminars have met with an exceptionally favourable response and are now an integral part of our in-house wellness programme.

All employees in Germany are fully represented by the Health and Safety Committee. It goes without saying that we meet all legal requirements under the Occupational Safety Act.

Since 2016, in order to ensure that challenges do not even have the chance to become burdens in the first place, our employees and executives at the Hannover location have been able to access an external telephone support line – the so-called Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) – available from the service provider TALINGO EAP. Most notably, the included family service and the opportunity to obtain immediate advice – free of charge and anonymously – on personal, professional and psychological matters or crises have been welcomed.

In addition, we offer staff at our Hannover headquarters a broad range of fitness opportunities, for example through company sports groups dedicated to various types of sport as well as through cooperation arrangements with fitness studios. Courses in back training are also offered on a regular basis. When it comes to individual workplaces, we ensure the best possible room layout and ergonomically designed furnishings, including electronically height-adjustable desks and chairs with a flexible range of adjustment options. We make appropriate facilities available for a mobile massage service that makes regular in-house visits to the Hannover location. Where required, we pay the costs of special computer glasses.

The risk of physical impairment to our employees, i.e. of occupational injuries or fatalities, is minimal owing to our business operations as a financial services provider. Employees in Germany reported altogether 4 accidents while at work or commuting in 2017; the total number of employee days lost was 12,934. The rate of absenteeism due to illness was slightly lower in Germany in 2017 than in the previous year at 3.8% (previous year: 3.9%). No work-related fatalities were recorded among the workforce at any Group company. Our business operations do not give rise to any health and safety risks that are covered in formal agreements with trade unions. We do not collect data on occupational diseases or gender-specific figures on absenteeism and accidents.